Toward a wider market definition in broadband: The case of Turkey
Utilities Policy, cilt.37, ss.111-119, 2015 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 37
- Basım Tarihi: 2015
- Dergi Adı: Utilities Policy
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.111-119
- Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır
Özet
As broadband Internet transforms the way people connect with others, the
boundaries between different modes of communications become vague. In
recent years, the scope of voice and broadband markets has become a
matter of concern for both policymakers and researchers. Until recently,
it was thought that DSL and mobile broadband markets were separate
markets and therefore they were separately regulated. However, recent
empirical evidence in some countries shows that fixed and mobile
broadband services are likely to be substitutes. If this is true, the
definition of the relevant market for broadband has to be expanded to
include mobile networks. This implies that they should be subject to the
same regulatory framework. In order to follow this change, we look into
the Turkish broadband market, as it is one of the fastest growing in
Europe. The paper provides empirical evidence on the existence of
fixed-mobile substitution in broadband Internet services in Turkey. We
show that fixed and mobile broadband are substitutes in Turkey and they
have to be included in the same relevant market definition. As
differences between them in terms of speed, reliability and price
diminish, customers increasingly see them as substitutes. These changes
in the market environment require a reconsideration of the regulatory
environment of fixed and mobile broadband markets.